Why would the nation hate him – unless it is because he has a prodigiously enlarged head? He is a good player but not that good! Besides, he is currently injured and hasn’t played for Scotland since January. And, shock-horror, there are actually one or two other Scottish players dotted around the landscape who can easily play in his stead.

I don’t think McCulloch’s presence would have made any difference against Macedonia and Scotland beat Iceland without him. So I think the national team will manage to cope now that he has retired.

So. Hate him? Nope. Sad to see him quit? A little – Scotland need as many decent players as they can muster to qualify for the next World Cup. Though I have to confess that I’m not confident of seeing Scotland qualifying.

Meanwhile I see that Theo Walcott has excelled himself by netting a hat-trick for England. Needless to say he has immediately been cast as England’s great hope and talisman for their inevitable triumph at the World Cup.

Steady on, now. Steady on. Give the kid a chance, he’s still only 19 and clearly has the potential to be a damn fine player. Provided the English media and fans don’t scare the talent out of him by expecting too much too soon. Not that they would ever do that!!!